Brightline could potentially add stops in Tampa and Polk County
TAMPA, Fla. - Friday marked Brightline’s first high-speed train ride from Miami to Orlando, and now Tampa Bay area leaders are weighing in on when a station could be coming to the area.
"It’s a big part of our future, right? We love Tampa. Tampa’s the next big market for us. You connect Tampa to the rest of this system and suddenly 75% of the state is within close proximity to a Brightline train. We like that a lot," Brightline CEO Mike Reininger said.
Orlando is Brightline’s sixth and northern-most stop. But the private rail company’s website shows a seventh station on the map: Tampa.
A map of the high-speed train route. Courtesy: Brightline
"We’re in concert with the mayors in Orange County, the mayor in Orlando, the mayor in Tampa, the Department of Transportation, hard at work to try to figure out the solution that allows us to get a train that’s running from Orlando all the way into downtown Tampa," Reininger said.
"I don't think that it's something that is too far away. I think that it will be coming soon," Hillsborough County commissioner Harry Cohen said. "My understanding is that the next phase of their expansion will be to Tampa to the area close to our Union Station, which is basically between Ybor City and the port district and downtown."
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In addition, Cohen told FOX 13 that this week’s announcement about the Tampa Bay Rays’ new stadium will open the door to new possibilities.
"I think that the sense of certainty surrounding the Rays’ stadium situation actually will be helpful, because it will clarify what needs to go on around wherever the Brightline train terminates," Cohen said.
Brightline wants to expand to Tampa and Polk County.
Proponents of the train argue it will alleviate traffic and that a Tampa-Orlando route would help ease congestion on I-4.
"It's a major freight corridor, so people naturally would like to have alternatives. And this is a really nice alternative," Cohen said.
A train between Tampa and Orlando would go through Polk County, where leaders told FOX 13 that they, too, have had conversations with Brightline leadership.
"Certainly can't ignore the growth and potential of Polk County. And the exciting thing about it is that the private sectors and their Brightline processes will pick the best location, the most optimal location for a facility in Polk County," Polk County Commissioner George Lindsey said. "And all the local governments are willing to work with them any way we can to help make that happen."